Rap is so subjective, as any genre of music, how can one be labeled "the best", that is like trying to pick a best guitar player or drummer. It is purely taste and subjectivity. I personally do not like rap, so I can't be much help, although some Eminem is kinda funny.

thats scandalous talk, Illithias.... who do you suggest would top the list?
eddie hazel, duane allman, and randy rhodes were all under-rated in my book.
people like hendrix, jeff beck, halen, and slash get over-used often.
buckethead, vai, srv are never rated high enough with their abilites.

Subjectivity is fine thing. What makes an <insert label/profession/artistry here> great? How many lives they touch? How many people they inspire to follow in their footsteps? Their technical proficiency? Their values and why they do what they do? A combination of any or none of these?

And best guitar players, don't get me started. If you've ever seen Buddy Guy, Kaki King, Frank Soda, Rik Emmet, or Yngwie Malmsteen play live, you would realize that that's a question that can't be answered.

What's that you say? You've never heard of half of them? That's my point...

I've a soft spot for the late eighties era when Public Enemy were at their peak; there were a lot of good albums being made. Up until that point hip hop had been more about the track, much like soul/rnb had been in the sixties; and then once it started to become established artists started getting more ambitious. So, Public Enemy, De La Soul, NWA, The Beasties' Pauls Boutique album, Third Bass. Dunno who the best rapper would be though; are we talking content or technique?

And as for guitars: I'm nearly twenty five years on that particular instrument and I still don't get the million notes played at speed; it does nothing for me. My description of it isn't PG so I'll leave that for another time and place.

"I think that Bizzy Bone from Bone Thugs -N- Harmony, along with Twista, are a couple of the most talented rappers I've heard up to today."

Finally, someone recognizing talent over their personal favorite. Otherwise, I'd be ranking Violent J at the top, even though he doesn't even deserve a spot in the top 10 of the best... Though, i see how it can be considered subjective, as so many have let their biases influence their decision of best. And I didn't know Em was still so popular...

Bizzy and Twista can indeed kick a verse with the quickness, and for that they rank up there. But I'm not sure anyone's mind works as fast Weezy's... He doesn't even write songs (yup, unless he's on someone else's song, its a freestyle...) lately, and most people don't even notice...

What about Rza or Immortal Technique.
Never forget Wu Tang everybody.
You could also say Ice Cube. He could always lay down fresh beats with killer lyrics.
Sage Francis is amazing lyrically, even though his last couple albums sucked.

>What about Rza or Immortal Technique.
>Never forget Wu Tang everybody.
>You could also say Ice Cube. He could always lay down fresh beats with killer lyrics.
>Sage Francis is amazing lyrically, even though his last couple albums sucked.
id say RZA for production easy but not as a stand alone rapper/MC.
i like imortal techs steez when he puts it down.
da lynch mob, james brown and george clinton you can thank for the majority of those 'fresh beats' you hear from cube. he is damn good but has been on/off so much with his hollywood stuff he probably hasnt had time to put int he effort he used to.
ill i know about sage is that he is white maybe and he is from boston possibly and all the kiddy hiphop fans talk about him, the same ones that like atmosphere and cage and copyright and murs and del. not my favs.

>Roots Manuva is the only "rapper" I like. It's more reggae and dub than rap, but he does rap in some songs.

first time i heard roots was like around 2001 and ever since then i've heard him pop up here and there and a lot of ninja tune stuff; he is nice on the mic. i havent really heard a lot from him solo though, i havent picked up any of his solo stuff.

Roots Manuva's work with other artists is decent, but his solo stuff is much better. If you haven't heard his music before, I highly recommend it. It's mostly very bass-heavy, and he produces it himself.
His biggest hit (and probably best song) has been "Witness (1 Hope)", which I've heard in many UK movies. That song is on his 2001 album "Run Come Save Me", which is my favorite.

Lil Wayne is very good, and each track he drops keeps getting better and better, but I would have to disagree on him being the best rapper alive.

I think the best rapper alive in pure lyrical genius is probably going to be NaS. His tracks really just make you think, though some of the beats could use more improvement, he really puts time and energy into every track he makes, making it perfect for every album that he creates.

For best rappers alive in terms of success, I would have to go with Shawn Carter aka the jigga man aka Jay-Z or P. Diddy. Both of these rappers have really branched out into other territories in different industries and have made mega money for doing so. Jay-Z is a co-owner of the New York Knicks or something like that, so that should tell you something.

I think either of those three could get the nominations for the best rappers alive, although I think some honorable mentions could be from 50 Cent (yeah even though I dislike his music he is becoming rather successful from his dabbling into different industries), Kanye West (I could see him becoming another NaS/Jay-Z with his lyrical abilities), Chamillionaire (the amount of time he puts into the booth is just insane), Outkast (probably a solid 4th place if they both still made albums), T.I. (would of been higher in my opinion if his newest album would of been better, but his beats are catchy and his flow is kinda unique), Ludacris (probably one of the most entertaining to listen to, very good beats, his wittiness and his emphasis on his consenants makes his tracks very hot), and Eminem (again I dislike his music but his lyrics have the potential to hit home with people and he gets help with his beats form Dr. Dre, so you really can't mess).

just thought I'd add my two cents

This thread is closed to new posts.
However, you are welcome to reference it
from a new thread; link this with the html
<a href="/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=002GLI">Best rapper alive?</a>